Archive for April, 2008
April 29th
Each Sunday, Scott’s Pizza Tour will sample the slices at a half dozen of New York’s famed pizza places like Patricia’s in Morris Park in the Bronx; and Totonno’s in Coney Island, Brooklyn. “This is like a dream, this pizza tour. It’s great,” said Chris Brady, 28, a Massachusetts customer service rep who downed 10 slices at five pizzerias during the tour’s maiden voyage.
The trek is the brainchild of Scott Wiener, a New Jersey resident who quit his job as an events coordinator for the City of Hoboken to launch the tour.
Pizza lovers with $55 to spare can tool around in a school bus on the first citywide pizza tour, which will hit premier pizzerias on a rotating basis.
Wiener is hoping to feature up-and-coming spots–like Luzzo’s in the East Village, as well as established favorites like Lombardi’s. At Lombardi’s, billed as the country’s first-ever pizzeria, fans enjoyed the famed coal-oven pies without waiting on the pizzeria’s infamously long lines.
Pizza Lovers - mark your calendars! Register online for the tour, which will leave from Lombardi’s on Sunday’s starting on May 11.
April 28th
I’ve got all the enthusiasm of a beginning gardener—and very little skill or knowledge—so it feels like a bit of a miracle to see my tulips blossoming. Meanwhile, I’ve been removing dead debris from the rest of the flower bed and slowly acquiring more plants. Now if I could only persuade the neighborhood cats to go elsewhere when they poop…
April 25th
In another bit of local news, I just found out that the lovely Cheyenne Diner, which Karen wrote about earlier this month, is going to move to Red Hook, where I live! It’s great to see that such a cool, iconic structure is going to stay in the city (other historic NYC diners have wound up in places as far away as the Catskills and even Wyoming), and I’m sure the neighborhood will welcome it. Meet you for an early breakfast once it opens, Karen?
April 24th
Does “Made in America” figure into anyone’s buying decision?
Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Cannondale mountain bikes, Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster guitars, Zippo lighters, American Apparel T-shirts, Manhattan Portage bags, and Quo Vadis planners are made in America. But do people buy them because they admire and trust the brand and its products, or does the fact they were made here also figure into their purchase?
With so many mass-market goods made offshore, primarily in Asia, American-made products are usually more expensive. We understand that is a minus for shoppers that put price first. But it is a plus for people that have come to connote craftsmanship with small-scale domestic products.
There are reasons American-made products are more expensive: the living wage and benefits paid to employees, and the costs of adhering to environmental, health and safety laws.
In the past decade we have tried to reach out with messages of “sweatshop-free,” “supports the U.S. economy,” and even, “environmentally clean manufacture.” None of these made any discernable difference with many retailers, especially the national chains where so many people do their shopping.
There is a lot of media attention now about companies jumping on the green bandwagon. There is also a corresponding amount of negative publicity on China: reports of poisoned products; their massive air and water pollution problems, the unrest in Tibet.
Will this publicity prompt consumers and stores to check the label for “American-made”?
April 23rd
Kelly and Katie McMenamin are two sisters who run a New York based home and life organization service called Pixies Did It. Their philosophy: life should be easy, and if your home is not organized around your own habits and personality, it won’t run smoothly. Here, Katie talks about how she found an organizational system that works for her:
“I’ve spent much of my life envying people who seem to have it together—organized, always on time, cautious, well dressed (and without cat hair, lint, dandruff, etc. upon their clothes) The kind of people who have no problem working first and playing later.
As much as I have tried, (watching television WHILE I write this, for instance) stray hairs are upon my clothes (which are, nonetheless, comfortable & stylish) and no matter how hard I try, I have never been able to be the strictly organized, on time, work before play person I have so much envied.
Turns out, those super ‘together’ people I’ve been jealous of were born with innate abilities for discipline & order. It comes EASY to them because if they don’t do these things, they get anxious, and annoyed. Life becomes hard. These people (my sister, for instance) are uncomfortable being messy, they aren’t happy unless they are crossing things off their lists, making sure their outfits are put together, the world around them ordered, filed away, clean. It’s simply who they are.
Not me. Read the rest of this entry »
April 22nd
Author Michael Pollan wrote an article in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine about why, given the immensity of the problem we face in global warming and the improbability that any one individual act (or even lifestyle) is going to make an impact, we should bother doing things like switching to CFL light bulbs or biking, not driving, to work:
If you do bother, you will set an example for other people. If enough other people bother, each one influencing yet another in a chain reaction of behavioral change, markets for all manner of green products and alternative technologies will prosper and expand. (Just look at the market for hybrid cars.) Consciousness will be raised, perhaps even changed: new moral imperatives and new taboos might take root in the culture… And those who did change the way they live would acquire the moral standing to demand changes in behavior from others—from other people, other corporations, even other countries.
Idealistic and even naïve as that may be, it seems like justification enough to change one’s ways. But it also got me thinking about how trendy “going green” has become, and how conflicted I remain about it. On the one hand, it’s great to see companies like Whole Foods and even Wal-Mart announce initiatives to eliminate plastic bags or reduce the amount of mercury in CFLs. Their motives aren’t pure, but the outcome is still good, and the impact is far greater than any individual could hope to accomplish. On the other hand, if the trend ever dies, then we’re back to where we started. And it’s ridiculous, almost dangerous, to give people the idea that they can save the earth by buying stuff.
Also, environmentalism has long felt like an essentially personal choice, where we decide to sacrifice our own convenience for a cause that we believe in, because our ethics and our sense of individual responsibility demand it. It’s hard to reconcile that view with a cynical, herd-following mentality. Many companies struggle, too—and I know this is a corporate blog—but a lot of us care passionately about preserving the environment, and would be quite distressed if people thought it was just another marketing ploy.
What do you think?
April 21st
I was in Dublin last week, and went to Davy Brynes pub for lunch. We were directed there by a group of high school seniors from Seattle who were in the city to study James Joyce, and follow in the footsteps of his immortal character, Leopold Bloom.
Situated in the center of Dublin and first licensed in 1789, Davy Byrnes in synonymous with literary giant James Joyce, who mentions he pub in both Dubliners and Ulysses. In the novel, Leopold Bloom stops for a gorgonzola cheese sandwich and a glass of burgundy while wandering through Dublin.
It was a great feeling being at the intersection of time, travel and literature.
April 15th
Lani Rosenstock is a New York based style consultant whose philosophy is that fashion is about being confident in your own unique look. In that spirit, we figured it’d be fun to get her perspective about planning a spring wardrobe: what’s out there, and what works for you?
“Fashion trends exist to keep us excited about getting dressed every morning and feeling good about ourselves. We all feel excited when we get a new piece of clothing that we think will express our personality or our mood.
This season there are so many contrasting trends, there is something for everyone. Clothes are moving closer to the body again and waists are back to the waist. No more babydoll look! Every decade is referenced this season. There’s neon from the 80’s, hippie chic from the 70’s and shirtdresses from the 50’s.
Some other major trends of the season are Color, Safari and Nautical looks as well as Floral prints. How do you pick which trends to follow, wear some of these looks to work, or know which of these trends are right for you?
Does it make you excited? Is this a color story that works for you? If you don’t look good in brights like hot pink and electric blue, what about tropical colors like turquoise and lemon yellow? Too much for you? Neutrals are in too. And if none of this sounds good, you can always go back to tried and true black and white.
My favorite safari look is this dress by Diane Von Furstenberg. Why not wear it under a black jacket and a peep-toe pump to your day job? Take off the jacket and add metallic sandals for a date after work? If prints aren’t your thing, express your inner tribal spirit with wooden bangles or a tiger’s eye ring.
The Nautical look can be anything with a navy, white and red theme. You can embrace the nautical stripe or mix a navy top with a khaki pencil skirt and red flats.
The floral prints of today are not the same of yesteryear. Witness this in the modern collection from Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga. If large florals are too much, go for the smaller liberty print floral in a bikini.
You don’t have to buy a new wardrobe each season in order to follow the trends. You can simply use what is already in your closet and purchase a few new pieces. Fashion trends are not about changing your style completely each season, they’re about adopting fresh ideas into the style that is already yours.”
April 14th
When I was growing up, my mother always kept a “yuck bucket” under the sink to store our biodegradable waste: stale bread, leftovers, eggshells and coffee grounds… periodically, someone would be tasked with taking it outside and dumping its contents on top of her compost pile.
Here in New York City, though, composting is rarely practical. Indoor bins are expensive, and besides, who has room for them? Few of us have any outdoor space, either, and when we do, our yards are quite small.
Fortunately for my own tiny yard, they now make reasonably small, compact outdoor composting bins; the one I just bought online is made from recycled plastic, and it doesn’t look atrocious tucked away on one side of the patio. Apparently our yard has also been blessed with a number of tiny red earthworms—earthworms are great for compost—so I dropped a couple in the bin last weekend to give them something new to chew on. (If they don’t like what they find, they can crawl back out through the bottom.) I’m so glad to be able to put our garbage to good use, and I can’t wait to put the finished compost on my flower bed: there’s no better fertilizer, I’ve heard.
Do you compost?
April 11th
More art inspired by Clairefontaine…
Jeanne Verdoux is a French artist and graphic designer who lives in Brooklyn. For her latest series of drawings, she worked with Clairefontaine paper—along with ink, wire and other materials—to create lighthearted, whimsical scenes that jump right off the page.
Jeanne’s art has been exhibited in New York and Paris, and will be featured in an upcoming show at the Bronx Museum.
